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CE Hours: Real Classroom Hours Versus ??

I'm finishing a CE course at a local massage school in Calif. Unlike other classes I've taken at other schools, this school charges for 40 hours but only 30 of them are actual classroom hours. The other 10 are basically homework -- 5 hours for a case study and 5 in the school's clinic, which, by the way, is double profit for the school -- I've paid for those 5 hours and so will clients coming to the clinic. There's something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth about this. What do others think? In other schools, 40 hours meant 40 classroom hours of instruction, plain and simple. I don't have a problem with homework, but, in my experience, homework is above and beyond the hours counted toward CE or certification.

Thoughts?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Darcy Neibaur on March 10, 2010 at 4:26am

Every CEU class that I have taken has always been in class hours, except for my State's requirements which I have done on line. Those classes were very reasonably priced and I did not feel I was being taken advantage of by the instructor or school. I am choosey when it comes to CEU's. www.worldmassagefestival.com has the best classes and CEU prices in the world. You might want to consider checking them out. I have used them for the last 4 years for my CEU.

Permalink Reply by Gary Lloyd on March 10, 2010 at 10:45am

I agree that 40 hours of CE credits should mean 40 hours of classroom. If there are 5 hours in the clinic, it should be included in the course time, while practicing on fellow students, with teacher supervision. It shouldn't be 5 hours in the clinic, and if you can work the new technique into the massage. Is the case study reviewed after you do it? If not, then it shouldn't be included as part of the sourse.

Permalink Reply by Julie Onofrio on March 10, 2010 at 11:04am

I think it should also be 40 hours of classroom time. Did they say anything in the class listing? Did you not know before you took the class?

I am not sure if the NCBTMB or various states would allow homework to be counted as part of their ce requirements.

Julie

Permalink Reply by Mark Vogel on March 10, 2010 at 2:00pm

Much about the class and the school has been vague. They did tell me there would be 5 clinic hours, but it wasn't until last night when all the requirements to finish were spelled out that I realized that so much of it is outside of class. No, the clinic hours are not supervised. They simply require the clients to fill out an evaluation form. The case study is pretty simple, and I don't think it will be evaluated in any meaningful way. :-(

Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on July 2, 2011 at 10:32pm

I don't understand your objection to clinic time--you learn massage by giving massage to people other than fellow students and family. In my school, clinic time is counted as classroom time, and charged accordingly. Every modality class I take consists of 4 credit hours of classroom and 4 credit hours of clinic. I relish those clinic hours. By now I am as familiar with my classmates' bodies as I am my own. My clinic clients are strangers to me; it is up to me to study their histories, develop treatment plans, and perform the massage. No greater feeling in the world than to have a client get off the table relaxed and, perhaps for the first time in months, be pain free. Occasionally a client will leave a few dollars on my table, but it is neither asked for nor expected. IMO, the clients are doing me a great favor just by showing up. One cannot learn massage solely from a textbook.